Venezuelan asylum seeker detained en route to work, files habeas petition
Feb 26, 2026 · Madison, ME, Venezuela

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.
Sources
More incidents in Maine
- Cambodian man detained by ICE while working at Portland, Maine marketAug 18, 2026 · Portland, ME
- Maine contractor detained seven months after traffic stop returns home with green cardAug 16, 2026 · Portland, ME
- Husband and wife arrested by ICE outside Cumberland County courthouse in PortlandAug 12, 2026 · Portland, ME
- MaineHealth nurse with pending asylum claim arrested by ICE at Portland JetportJul 30, 2026 · Portland, ME
- ICE detentions surge in Maine weeks before Biddeford shootingJul 17, 2026 · Maine, ME
- Colombian delivery driver fatally shot by ICE officer in mistaken Maine traffic stopJul 17, 2026 · Biddeford, ME